(Bloomberg) — China approved its third batch of new games this year but Tencent Holdings Ltd. again failed to make the list, an absence that could spur speculation about Beijing’s intentions for the world’s largest mobile entertainment arena.
There were no Tencent games among the 67 titles approved by the National Press and Publication Administration, the third batch of licenses granted so far this year. The WeChat operator had already missed out on two previous rounds that started April, when regulators resumed publishing regular lists of approved titles following a months-long suspension. Titles by smaller rival Netease Inc. were also absent.
Beijing’s tech crackdown — which ensnared sectors from e-commerce to fintech and even online education over a tumultuous year — spread to gaming in August, when regulators introduced stringent measures such as capping play time for minors and imposed other requirements aimed at curbing addiction. The media watchdog has since been reviewing new titles to determine whether they meet stricter criteria on content and child protection, slowing rollouts, Bloomberg News has reported.
Read more: China Ends Game Freeze by Approving First Titles Since July
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